Drop or receive D?

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>Hey guys I'm currently a senior majoring in mechanical engineering having serious problem. I've been in constant depress last year and ended up receiving bad grades and got a warning letter from school about my satisfactory academic progress. It says that I need to stay in at least 12 credits and term grade of 2.0 or better. The things is that I'm taking 4 classes right now which is 12 credit but I'm thinking about dropping one class due to danger of not being able to pass the class. I called the financial aid office about this and they told me that although it won't affect my financial aid for this semester as they already provided the aid to me, it might affect the academic progress warning. So should I just get a D in class or withdraw? It seems that in terms of gpa, w is pretty much same as getting F because I made an attempt to finish the course. But if I just take it and get the D, for the term grade, I won't be in danger.
The reason why I'm hesitating is that due to those years of depression, I receive 3 F's (which I retook and passed), 3 D's and 2 W's (I know, really bad). Adding another D to this seems like really bad, but if I withdraw, it'll affect the financial aid as I might not pass the satisfactory academic progress.
I'm currently waiting for a reply from an interview for summer internship and I'm scared they might ask for my transcript for verification.</p>

<p>What should I do? can someone help?</p>

2

<p>You need to:</p>

<p>A) Talk to a mental health professional immediately. If this depression has a medical cause then you may qualify for alternate solutions that would be better than either one you proposed. And even if it isn’t, talking to someone about this can dramatically improve (or save) your life! If it is causing you this much trouble, then you need to get help.</p>

<p>B) Talk to your professor(s) about taking an incomplete in one or more of those classes. If they are sympathetic, they may be willing to give you more time to complete the course material while you deal with your problems.</p>

<p>C) Talk to your departmental advisor, preferably AFTER completing part A and if possible part B. It is likely that EITHER taking the D or dropping the class will get you kicked out of school, so you really need to talk to them and see what better options you have. Remember that THEY are the ones who know and can work the system, which they will usually do if they think your problem is (or can be made) temporary.</p>

3

<p>A) Actually the two classes I withdrew last semester was by talking to the psychological counsellor in my school. She tried to help me out and I talked about lot of things about myself. But that was it, they didn’t really do anything they just did the survey and made me talk about all the past, which made me remember all those bad times and got depressed even more. Right now, I got something I want to do which is making music and playing instruments. I’m planning to buy cheap keyboard to learn composing music as a hobby. Perhaps this will relieve some of my depression but I wish I had done that earlier (I’m already in danger now so, no point of thinking about the past I guess). </p>

<p>B) Even though I explained my depression, he only gives me an option to just drop the class or change the major. I tried to explain to him that I can’t do either as I already considered changing major back in 2nd year by talking to my parents, which didn’t work out, but he doesn’t seem to be listening and keep assuming that this major is not for me. (If I actually studied hard and got really bad grade for the exam, then fine, I do understand that this major might not be for me, however, with depression getting in the way which prevented me from getting prepared for the exam, and not doing well on the exam, I don’t think you can say that has got to do with me not understanding the material- I really wanted to say this but he just doesn’t listen). (he just gets up saying he needs to have lunch and left, ouch). </p>

<p>C) How does dropping the course or getting a D kick you out of the school? Don’t you start with the warning or probation and go through the process? Don’t they make students to show up for the appeal for the probation? I don’t think they just kick you out without any alternative option. But I plan to send email regarding this matter to the advisor.</p>

4

<p>A) You should talk to a psychologist or psychiatrist NOT associated with your school then - apparently your problem was more than she could address. As to the music… are you sure you want to be an engineer? Are you even in a position to decide that right now?</p>

<p>B) You can talk to more than just the one professor - ANY courses that you could defer would give you more time and energy to spend on the ones remaining. As to that one professor, it does not appear you are going to make any headway with him - right or wrong, he has decided that you are not deserving of any special consideration.</p>

<p>C) You have already received a warning letter, and at most schools failing to meet the requirements of that letter WILL RESULT IN IMMEDIATE AND AUTOMATIC EXPULSION! You are ALREADY on probation, that was what the letter was about! Dropping the course puts you below the required credit load, and getting a D drops you below the required GPA (presumably) so either way you violate the required performance standard and get expelled!</p>

<p>I do not speak out of ignorance - I have been subject to automatic expulsion TWICE in my academic career. </p>

<p>The first time, during undergrad, I was simply not ready to be in school and (after getting the letter and then failing to meet the requirements) was unceremoniously booted from school. Took me six years to get back, but when I did I was able to do MUCH better, because I knew what I wanted and was able and willing to work for it.</p>

<p>The second time, during grad school, I had a terrible showing my first two semesters and was slated for the axe but after talking to the department advisor received a reprieve - he agreed that my performance had been uncharacteristic and that there were some signs that something was wrong. He got me dropped to part-time/nondegree, and shortly thereafter I was diagnosed with a rare and life-threatening medical condition which lined up neatly with my academic problems. I was able to get treatment and was back in full-time, degree status two years later.</p>

5

<p>A) Well I did tell my parents at first that I don’t think I wanted to do engineer because I believed that I wouldn’t be able to cope with it even for a career. But due to the horrible economy, I reluctantly agreed to major in one. As for music, I don’t really know about majoring it yet but plan to study myself going through books and online classes.</p>

<p>B) For now, I guess I should just do whatever I can to improve the grade.</p>

<p>C) I really got scared when you talked about the expulsion and read the email in detail and this is what it said “You must achieve a cumulative and term grade point average (GPA) of 2.00 or higher for the Spring 2014 semester to avoid probation. It is also expected that you make satisfactory progress in earning at least 12 degree credits.”
So I guess I’m in danger of getting probation rather than in danger of getting expelled. </p>

6

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<p>Forgive my implications, but it sounds as though you have a liking towards music, but are hesitant to do more with it. And instead of getting a music major, you’re doing engineering because other people tell you it’s practical and lucrative, and you can keep the music as a hobby.</p>

<p>If that be the case, I can partially relate. My interests in animation, art, and creative writing … they are not well received by others. Ha, it’s my fantasy to work for Disney and write the next “Frozen”… stupid I know.</p>

<p>I was a freshman entering engineering per my parent’s suggestion. I didn’t have the energy to argue anymore (as we argued a lot about my college major) so I just thought I do engineering and get it done with.</p>

<p>I detested my calculus and chemistry classes. About a week in, I had an anxiety attack. It was while I was studying for one of them, and I realized how droll my career in engineering was going to be. For my entire college career, I have a scholarship that requires me to be a full-time student. Had I dropped math or science, let alone both, bye-bye money. Now which made more sense, losing a scholarship that payed for the majority of my tuition for my Bachelor’s, or failing two classes? (And because I was in engineering, they wouldn’t let me take a pass-fail option, where if I did fail, it wouldn’t show up as an F grade.)</p>

<p>I don’t know what to suggest, drudging through vs. dropping. But I can relate to the academic probation part, as I am in it right now.</p>

<p>Needless to say, go talk to some higher ups. They surely must understand that you are not well at this present stage and can explain what will happen. Even if you think you know, get a second opinion.</p>

<p>And maybe go to counseling too, as I have the thought that you REALLY don’t want to be an engineer. Again, maybe I am wrong. You have an internship interview lined up, which means you put more effort into engineering than I ever will. Maybe you find engineering more exciting than I ever will, too. Your story just really resonates with me for reasons I stated previously.</p>

<p>My PM box is always open, too, FYI.</p>

7

<p>Nah, the reason I can’t really do music major is that my parents are the ones paying for the tuitions, and I already wanted to major in music back in high school, but just because one of my teachers told my mother that “music major is not easy, you need to have experience in various concerts and auditions”, my mother just rejected it right away (I was dumbfounded, I mean, just because one person told you that, you just agree to it and not let me go for music?). Haha, and no, I really do not put any effort, I’ve been not passing and getting D’s in classes starting my junior year (the depression kicked in stronger during that time). The interview I had was thanks to the person who was willing to network me and I am still waiting for the answer now. Although I plan to live my life by music, I still need to pay back for my student loan so I’ll have to find the job as soon as possible after I graduate (learning music myself through online classes whenever I get free time). But man, I’m not sure how this is going to work out. </p>